


He Who Was Forgotten (And Found By One Who Remembered)

by FullmetalDude1



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Space, Character Death In Dream, Crush at First Sight, Illusions, Long-Distance Friendship, M/M, Memory Alteration, Memory Magic, Mild Blood, Mild Gore, Oblivious Shiro (Voltron), Poison Apples, Reading Aloud, Sheith Quotes, Snow White Elements, Witch Curses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 12:38:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17662790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullmetalDude1/pseuds/FullmetalDude1
Summary: Once upon a time, on a planet far, far away, there lived a young Prince. Endlessly patient and willing to sacrifice anything of his for his people, the Prince was named Takashi....Mrs Aki loves reading stories to the orphans she cares for while her parents are having adventures. Just as they are in these tales.





	He Who Was Forgotten (And Found By One Who Remembered)

"Mrs Aki? Can you wead us a bed time stowy?" A two year old Galra infant tugged on my dress.

I smile as I kneel by his side, "Of course kiddo. What do you want me to read?"

The kid pulls me over to the bookshelf and tugs out one of the books written by the other children.

"Snow White's Curse." I smile as I read the cover, "One of my favorites."

"I like that this one is about the Voltron Paladins." The kid giggles, "They're my heroes."

I nod along, "Okay then, let's find the other kids so I can read to them."

It doesn't take long to round everyone up at the shared nesting room. Kids of a seemingly a million different races and species giggle. My father built this orphanage on the backbones of his many humanitarian efforts while caring for me. I made a lot of my first friends in the building sites of these same structures.

"Everyone comfy and ready to hear a story?" I smile.

Everyone giggles and I open the book, coughing softly to prepare my voice. "Snow White's Curse."

_Once upon a time, on a planet far, far away, there lived a young Prince. Endlessly patient and willing to sacrifice anything of his for his people, the Prince was named Takashi. He was born with a few strands of white hair, allowing him some limited magical powers._ _Though the Prince was eternally kind and loved by his people, he couldn’t help but feel loneliness seep deep in his soul. All knew him as a Prince and treated him as such. He never had a friend to make fun of him or share his deepest secrets with._ _He believed it would remain this way forever._

_Until one day while he was exploring a moon with his guard, he came across a boy. His cloak was blood red while his eyes were purple like the furthest stars. His name was Keith._

_Keith was unlike anyone he’d seen or met before. He was quiet but his presence seemed to fill the entire atmosphere without feeling oppressive. He was snarky and didn’t laugh easy, but when he did, it was like feeling sunshine for the first time. Or a fire on a dark winters night._ _The Prince didn’t give his name for fear of Keith figuring out who he was. So he let Keith give him a name._

_“_ _Shiro. It means white, like your hair, so I won’t forget you.”_

_The Prince’s heart swelled and Shiro wondered if this was what Friendship felt like._

_This wonderful day on the moon couldn’t last forever, but as Shiro was bidding Keith farewell, Keith gave him a special radio. “It absorbs starlight and forges a connection with it’s twin. So long as there is a sun or stars above, we’ll never be far apart.”_

_The two wept as they parted ways, then continued to communicate through their radios for years to come. When Keith got into the Galra Empire’s knighthood, Shiro heard first. When Shiro’s parents met an untimely end, it was Keith he cried to. Years passed and they became men._ _And then it was time for Shiro’s coronation. He was nervous but Keith assured him his “Graduation Speech” would go fine. Shiro began to believe him and when he took to the stairs, he felt ready to become King. Until thunder suddenly filled the sky, bringing with it the witch._

_Haggar._

_She had been the one to destroy Shiro’s parents and seeked to bring misery to all the universe to make her powers grow. But Shiro would not let her hurt his people and he fought with her, hand to hand, sword to wand. But people were hurt so the Prince made a sacrifice._ _Shiro cast a curse upon himself and Haggar, trapped them both in an eternal dream where their battle would be internal and she could not hurt anyone else._

_The knights tried to strike the witch down, but she was shielded by her own magic spells. Shiro has no such protection._

_So the knights moved their Prince deep in Voltron’s Woods. The mightiest guardian the people had ever known had lived and died there, his energy still flowed through the land and offered shelter to the sleeping Prince and his troubled knights._ _Daily, civilians with no ill intentions were guided by Voltron to the Prince’s resting place, where a growing mountain of flowers and misery spread. Misery which fueled Haggar’s fight and drained Shiro’s energy. If he didn’t stop his people’s pain, Haggar would defeat him._ _He pleaded with the ancient forest to make his people forget him. One can not miss someone they forgot and thus, could not feel misery for his curse. Voltron agreed and within a week, Shiro’s cousin Allura was crowned Queen. The flowers wilted and his knights left._

_Prince Takashi had been forgotten._

_But not Shiro._

_Keith knew Shiro wouldn’t just ghost him as he’d done for the past week. Keith’s thoughts grew worried and spun as he wondered if Shiro was injured or ill. It haunted him at work and Emperor Lotor offered Keith a few days rest._ _Keith used them to fly a small ship across the universe, following signal on his radio which would lead him to Shiro. As he traveled, thoughts seemed to whisper in his head._

_“Turn back.” A crone growled, “You shall never find your dearly beloved.”_

_“Watch me.” Keith snarled and pushed his ship to go faster._

_While in the stars, mindless beasts took it in turns to try and force him into abandoning his quest, from Weblums trying to eat his ship, to Illutionist creatures making him believe Shiro was floating right there._ _But he pressed on, his heart yearning and searching for the Shiro he knew. Some energy seemed to wrap around his heart and guild him away from beasts and illusions until he finally landed on Planet Altea._

_As soon as he arrived, a blue and black wolf appeared at his side._

_The wolf guilded him through open planes of juniberry flowers where yet more mindless beasts came in his way, growing stronger all the time. But with his mother’s sword and the wolf’s teleportation, they passed them by until finally. The attacks stopped, t_ _he same time he entered a forest. All the animals guided him and the wolf through bristles and branches, knotting roots and twisting vines parting to give Keith room to maneuver. Until he reached a clearing. Where Shiro lay in a glass coffin, his hair white to the roots._ _Keith ran to his side, reading the inscription._

_“Beloved Prince Takashi. Cursed to eternal sleep so disaster could be cursed with him. May his sacrifice never be forgotten.”_

_Keith’s eyes welled up with tears and he wrapped his arms around the coffin. And he wept and wept and wept._

_Until he took notice of a blue light at his side._

_H_ _e turned to see the wolf who’d been guiding him smile, “Brave knight of the Galra Empire, there is a way to save your love.”_

_Keith whipped his eyes and nodded, “Tell me what I need to do.”_

_He’ll do whatever it takes._

_“The Prince is battling the embodiment of Misery, the Witch Haggar. Her predecessor killed the warrior Voltron where we stand, and he was a giant thought too mighty to ever fall. He is giving Shiro what little magic he has left to help him fight. But he’s losing.” The wolf said,_ _“You must enter Shiro’s dream, falling under the curse yourself. You must find Shiro and not be tricked by Haggar’s attempts to cloud your convictions.” The wolf gestures to his mother’s sword, “Luxite is the greatest weapon against her powers. Use it to destroy her.”_

_“How do I enter the dream?” Keith draws his mother’s sword._

_4 small mice run towards him, balancing an apple between them,_ _“Eat that. It’s poisoned to make you enter the curse.”_

_Keith picked up the apple and looked at all 5 of the creatures before him. “Thank you.”_

_Keith took one bite of the apple, feeling bile rise in his throat. It tasted so foul, he was certain it was rotten to the core. He clamped a hand over his mouth and kept chewing, tears running down his face; Shiro suffered this for his people. He swallowed and he only knew black._

_The black was suddenly lit up by streaks of blue and purple in the darkness. Keith gasped as he heard Shiro scream in the black and the stench of blood filled his nose._

_“SHIRO!” He dashed towards the lights and came upon a terrifying sight that will haunt him his all life._

_Shiro, blood dripping from his nose and all down what remained of his right arm. Keith, stronger, bigger, covered in black armor, wielding a bloody sword with a disturbing grin._

_Haggar kneeling by Shiro’s head. “I told you he only befriended you to kill you.”_

_The darker Keith turned his head and his grin grew wider, “Look Haggar, it’s another copycat of me. I thought one was missing.”_

_Haggar hums as she turns her head, “You best absorb it before Shiro attempts to rescue it. There’s no point in breaking him anymore.”_

_Keith saw red and blue and ran to Shiro’s side, “NO!”_

_Shiro gasps and turns towards him, tears running down his face, “Keith.”_

_But when Keith got there, Shiro disappeared like a cloud of smoke and Keith remembered. He fell for an illusion. The darker Keith lifted his blade-_

_Keith drew his own and sliced through the illusion._ _Haggar howled and grabbed at her arm, where a blue light shaped like a sword slice was._

_She growled, “Luxite!”_

_Keith turned towards her and said calmly, “Where. Is. Shiro?”_

_The Witch snarled and threw purple lightning at him._ _Keith ducked and dodged to every other way when it sailed towards him, cutting through it when he had to. Haggar continued to scream as more and more blue lights emerged on her body._

_“If you kill me, you’ll kill the Prince too!” Haggar screeched._

_Keith put his sword to her chest, “Then I’ll drag him from the underworld to return him to his body and his people. You can not stop me. You can’t even bring misery to one tiny planet. Altea’s people are strong. But Shiro’s even stronger. And me?”_

_Keith drew his blade back to strike her a final time. Haggar screamed as she burst into a blue flame, lighting up the black with purple, blue and red stars._

_Keith saw his reflection by his feet and noticed his more Galra features had appeared. “I can do anything for Shiro.”_

_Keith looked around the place and finally spies a very confused looking Shiro sitting on the ground. No blood. His face fine. His arm whole._

_Keith felt tears drip from his eyes as he screams, “SHIRO!”_

_Shiro turns towards him and races to his feet, “KEITH!”_

_The two ran to meet in the middle and when they met, they held each other tight. And they wept and wept and wept._

_Shiro smiles as he cups Keith’s face, “Good to have you back, Keith.”_

_Keith cradled his hands, “Good to be back.”_

_Keith kisses Shiro’s hand, then his lips._

_Shiro’s eyes fluttered open. Then confusion took over. Did, did the sleeping curse not work? Is Haggar hurting his people right now?! Did he fail in his duty to protect them-_

_“Shiro!”_

_Shiro turns his head to see Keith smiling st him through glass, with the fondest, most relived look on his face and he remembered. The curse. The memory erasing. The endless battles with Haggar’s illusions. Collapsing as he saw Haggar have a fake Keith cut him to pieces._ _Being confused when another Keith ran to the illusion. Passing out as he prayed for his kingdom in his presumed final hour. Stars bursting and burning above his head, giving him the energy to stand, seeing Keith giving him the energy to run._

_Shiro begins to cry as Keith lifts the coffin’s lid, “You found me.”_

_Keith whips his tears away, ignoring his own in favor of staring at Shiro, “I’m glad you’re back Shiro.”_

_Shiro laughs and cries as he whipes Keith’s tears, “It’s good to be back, Keith.”_

_The two held each other close, basking in silence and the physical contact they’d been in need of. Shiro was just about to fall asleep again with Keith, when knights crashed through the forest, let by his cousin. “PRINCE TAKASHI!”_

_Keith allowed Shiro some space to be welcomed by his people, who’s memory of Prince Takashi was restored with the breaking of the sleeping curse. Haggar’s body had been turned to ash, all her powers gone. She could never hurt them or anyone else again._ _The Prince introduced his people to his beloved. His Keith who bravely fought the Witch to save Shiro from an untimely demise. His Keith who he loved and who loved him in return._

_Allura immediately began making arrangements to allow Shiro to return to his throne._

_Keith stepped in at that point to suggest allowing Shiro to rest and become more familiar with his people before forcing him to do anything too strenuous._

_Allura blushed and Shiro laughed, “Oh my hero, I’m so weary and tired! Carry me to bed!” falling into Keith’s arms for a joke_

_Keith blushed, then grinned. “As you wish.”_

_He picked Shiro up and carried him all the way to the castle, despite Shiro’s frequent bashful and frantic attempts to make Keith put him down. When they reached a carriage, Keith put Shiro down. On his lap._ _Shiro blushed and squirmed almost all the way home, before finally accepting his fate and hugging Keith as he was carried to his now dusty and forgotten room. Servants went to fix it immediately but when they were done, they found Shiro and Keith sleeping in the library._

"And they all lived Happily Ever After. The End." I close the book, smiling when I see the youngest children being tucked in by the few older ones still awake.

I go to help, keeping the book tucked to my chest as I make sure all the children are bundled up snugly.

"Everyone loves that story, Mrs Aki." A little Altean boy yawns, "Thank you for reading it."

"It's always a pleasure, dear." I brush some hair from his eyes.

"Is it true that Prince Takashi is your Dad?" A little Olkari girl turns her head.

I laugh, "Yes, but in the real world he's not Prince Takashi."

"Who is he then?" The little boy tilts his head.

I pull off my locket and click it open. Inside is a picture of me, Sven and both my fathers behind us, celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary.

"The best father in the universe, who always told me that. Of all the things he did, raising me and my brother to be the people we are today, with his husband's eternal love and support, was his greatest accomplishment." I smile as I wonder where they are now.

They're on their once a year, week long holiday, exploring the universe together. It only makes sense, since they were the ones who saved it. With Uncle Lance, Uncle Hunk, Auntie Pidge, Auntie Allura and even Grandpa Coran's help, but everyone agrees those two played the biggest role in it.

_"If it weren't for the power of love, why your Papa would have kicked the bucket a long time ago, kiddo!" Uncle Lance had laughed, only to get wacked over the head by my embarrassed Dad._

I can't wait to see what they bring back for me and Sven after this year's trip.

**Author's Note:**

> I have to credit the titles to my dear friend Syd. They came up with the one for this story, and the one for the book in this story.
> 
> This was also a twitter thread: https://twitter.com/Dude1Fullmetal/status/1092037900550750209
> 
> If you wanna share my post about the fic, use this one please: https://twitter.com/Dude1Fullmetal/status/1092578527520739328


End file.
